I absolutely LOVED this book, so must that I finished and reread all over again. I have ready nearly 10 Christian Lauren and this by far is my favorite. I was so very excited at how much I thoroughly enjoyed this new spin from CL. Keep doing what you are doing and I will be a forever fan. Can't recommend this book enough.

Sweet, heartbreaking, romantic, funny, steamy, and books – the main characters fall in love while reading books together. Really loved this. It was honest and realistic.

Macy loses her mother when she's 10, and a few years later her father, heeding one of the suggestions left by his wife, buys a weekend home in Healdsburg, California. Macy immediately meets Elliot, the youngest son of the large Greek family next door. They bond over books in the closet-turned-library her dad creates for her and he becomes the only person she can talk to about everything.

Eleven years later, however, Macy is a pediatric resident, living with a fiancé she barely knows, when she sees the long-estranged Elliot. Something has happened in the intervening years that caused Macy to sever all ties with Elliot, but (obviously) now that they've reconnected, lots of emotions, memories, etc come back to the surface.

The past and present develop in alternating chapters.

When I got the ARC from NetGalley, I was worried this would be floppy, vapid, "chick lit," (sorry chick lit), but the characters are really well drawn, the writing is crisp and clever, and it was just a good story about love lost and found and being willing to be vulnerable.

***ARC received for an honest review***

<b>"He's my person. He's always been my person. My best friend, my confidant, probably the love of my life.</b>

Told in elegant flashbacks and painful present tense - we build a story of completely pure love and then watch it shatter.

Macy and Elliot meet when Macy's dad buys a vacation home in Northern California. A place for Macy and her dad to escape when Macy's mom's death becomes to devastating. Elliot and his boisterous family become Macy's escape through high school. The reading-obsessed duo hangs out in Macy's reading nook - falling perfectly in love over 4 achingly sweet years.

And then we have current Macy and Elliot - him confused - her locked up tight. Engaged to another man - Macy is sad and defensive and hiding a big fat secret.

I loved every single almost-crying moment. Macy and Elliot made me fall in love - and broke my heart - then brought me to the pinnacle before tossing me back down. Again. I love the perfect amount of angst. I don't want a book just smashing my heart - punching me in the gut. But a book that intertwines the hurt and the happy like this? Perfectly bittersweet.

<b>"'Why can't everyone be like you?' 'I can be enough of your world that it feels like everyone is.'"</b>

I have a love/hate with Christina Lauren. But this book has taken the duo to a new level for me. I'm gonna bask bask bask my smug little butt off tomorrow. Happy Reader.

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One thing I know after reading ‘Love and Other Words’ is that that’s Christina Lauren’s searing, literary-tinged writing is the book’s standout, more so because of a romance built on intellect, the love of words and books. Lauren takes on the second-chance romance with aplomb here and I’m grudgingly admitting that the unusual mix of circumstances and events do make this scenario more plausible than many others that I’ve come across, thereby making Elliot/Macy a pairing that aren’t back together just because they decided to give it a go once again.

Told with interspersed flashbacks but only in Macy’s POV, Elliot’s and Macy’s story is one of teenage love, love lost and then found again many years later, all because a mistake turns into a history of grief and tragedy that neither could have expected. In the present, serendipity—written as fate that would inevitably draw these one-time lovers back together again—forces an awkward reunion in a coffee shop and the moment Elliot and Macy are back in each other’s orbits, their coming back together despite the circumstances is written and seen as inevitability. If the timeline in the past is one of anticipatory dread to the moment where they are torn apart, the present crawls a little, almost moving backwards as it constantly points towards the upcoming revelation of what really happened before closing with a short (and rather abrupt) resolution thereafter.

Structurally, ‘Love and Other Words’ is well-balanced between past and present, as the measured but slow pacing of Elliot’s and Macy’s relationship builds to a point where you cannot—or would not—look away from the train wreck that’s coming. The rocky road back together isn’t necessarily an enjoyable a journey for every reader nonetheless; Macy’s engagement and Elliot’s quick breakup with his girlfriend mean that secondary characters do play a role here, and it could be argued that cheating (sort-of) had been a significant part of the whole mess.

There’s breadth and depth in the storytelling and insights given into the emotional damage they’ve both carried throughout the years, though it is harder to believe however, that they could gravitate towards each other again that easily and quickly after 11 years. I actually wanted to know if there was really any comeuppance for the guilty parties involved which felt glossed over, but Lauren does not get into the tic-for-tac business nonetheless. This is my own cynical and vindictive self speaking clearly, as the focus steadfastly remains on the idea of star-crossed lovers and soul mates who, after having established their belonging to each other in their teens, seem destined to always love and find each other again no matter the distance. Elliot/Macy are, by this time, above the mistakes of their past, though I would have been happier seeing a more concrete resolution that didn’t just span the last 2 or so chapters wrapping up their HEA that prioritised their moving on and moving in together.

‘Love and Other Words’ does however, suggest that there’s only ‘the one’ without whom the other can’t function properly—it’s an idea I’m vaguely uncomfortable with, despite the commonly-held romantic notion perpetuated in fiction that 2 people are simply biding time (with others) before they can get back to each other. Furthermore, Elliot's assumption that they could have waved the past away with an explanation of his drunken mistake without considering the ramifications of the betrayal felt overly optimistic as well; that it should be forgiven because he hadn't known he was making the mistake at the time just doesn't feel justified enough.

But maybe I’m grasping at straws for a pretty entertaining read; the all-is-right-with-the-world ending is what Elliot/Macy’s dreams are supposed to be made of after all, isn’t it?

Oh my heart! This was just what I needed. Macy and Elliott meet when she was just 13 and he was 14 when her Dad purchases a weekend house next to Elliott's family. From the start they are drawn to each other through their love of books. In alternating chapters, "Now" and "Then", readers are pulled into their story and how such an intense connection could be severed. Macy and Elliott have not spoken in 15 years when a chance meeting alters their life's. A beautiful story of love and loss that grabbed hold of my heart.

This was really such a good book. Up to this point y only experiences with author(s) Christina Lauren was their 'Boss' series. Which was also very good, but definitely deeply the risqué end of the romance genre. This novel read totally differently and told a more serious and sweeter story their other work. Sometimes it can throw me off when an author writes a story totally different from their more typical style I didn't find that to be the case with this book at all. I was sucked in from the first page and devoured the book in its entirety in under 24 hours.

The books begins with an adult Macy Sorenson desperately trying to avoid a man sees in a local coffee shop. A man she hasn't seen in 11 years but also describes as the love of her life. Flashing back and forth between current day and an 15 year countdown from her summer before 8th grade and the years leading up to their 11 year break the novel addresses the importance people play in a life both with their presence and by leaving us. At it's heart this book tells the tale of a second chance romance but also tells a coming of age story of every kind of love, loss heartache and growing up. This book made me laugh and cry and I didn't want it to be over so quickly. I would absolutely recommend this book to others and look forward to catching up on the author's backlist.

This is a terrific book in my humble opinion. I was up late reading it and at it first thing in the morning. I could not get enough of Mace and Eliot and of their past and present relationships. Even though eleven years separated their lives, their deep love for each other never ever lessens or departs. Their binding together began at early teens and is woven together through the love of books and “favorite word.” A series of horrible, heart-wrenching events unfold over a few hours and Mace leaves Eliot without a word-no contact, no replies to texts or emails or voice mail. It is not until a very random encounter that they begin to realize the depth of their love and find a way to face the past in order to progress into the future together.

I read this book in one night. Mainly because I wanted to find out what happened, and Christina Lauren has writing that flows and is easy/quick to read. I love their Beautiful series, but haven’t read their other books. This one felt like a romance novel trying to be women’s fiction. Too much trope to be women’s fiction, and too slow to simply be romance. Christina Lauren fans will love it, though. #LoveandOtherWords #NetGalley

➳A second chance at finding the honest truth but also, discovering the beauty of what friendship does to enhance a new romantic relationship between two soul mates...

➳I don't think there are enough words to describe how soul-soothing amazing the words that Christina Lauren create bring to my life. It's indeed very hard to find a novel that will not only connect with you in an entertainment kind of way, but also emotionally when it comes down to sensible topics such as second chances at finding the honesty of the past, family lose, finding a new family for comfort, and also being with the one true person that has showed tenderness, joy, and sadness all in one bundle since the moment you have met. That's who Macy and Elliot are in this flashback of a romance story that fascinate and swoop you off your feet, making you not want to get up from whatever comfortable reading position you read in just so you find out what happens in the next chapter, and the chapter after that, and after that one, and after that one, and so on...

➳This romance novel is not like your any day romance novel that's for sure. With the history that Elliot and Macy have, it is that same reason that makes this novel so worth of being enamored by it in ways that one would not expect. That one mystery that makes you question "what happened to them?" is always there as well, drawing you to the page and their flashbacks. The contentment between Elliot and Macy is there, even after years of not seeing each other, the warmth and recognition is still there. As an advocate of romances with possessive alpha males, love at first sight, strong held friendships that lead to a romantic affair (in the good way), and finding an ending that doesn't lead you to questioning what happens next, I can declare this new CLo book a masterpiece that is no surprise to me will become a hit for many who adore their writing.

➳The emotional side of CLo has one hundred percent shown in this new novel, and to many may enjoy it, but it is indeed a romance that no one should pass along and forget about. It comforts you, it soothes you, it gravitates towards you to continue and enjoy the chemistry that Elliot and Macy have. The messages of the lose, the gain, and the remembrance of family is one that certainly makes you stop and think about what you truly have and the who are the people that surround and care for you. Personally, I have taken my family for granted for so many years, but with the presence of this novel I have succumbed to the realization that family will always be there, through the thick and thin, the enjoyable times and downfall times, and the confusing and understandable times, family will always be there to show us how love truly enhances in an individual.

➳Overall, this fictional romance novel that has gained so much of my respect this year and has become one of my favorites can officially be declared as a unique story that so many should read. Those who are fans of Christina Lauren and for those who are not but still rehash to the romance genre, Love and Other Words is a story filled with unique and unforgettable moments. Thank you to my favorite publishers at Gallery Books for providing an early copy that I will forever take advantage of re-reading over and over again.

**Copy provided through Netgalley in exchange for a voluntary and honest review.**

Oooh that was good. Elliot and Macy became best friends when she and her father bought a vacation home next door to Elliot after the death of her mother. She found him reading in her closet and that was that. Any time Macy would visit, she and Elliot were inseparable and their bond lasted and expanded well into their teens.

The story switches between then and now (eleven years later). Macy is a pediatric resident and Elliot a writer. It's obvious their relationship ended on New Year's Eve eleven years ago with the two never speaking again. But a chance encounter reignites their friendship and what went wrong is slowly revealed.

And it's gooood. It's worth the angst. The author got me. I wasn't expecting that. Such an amazing story. Well done!

I have always been a fan of Christina Lauren's writing style so I looked forward to this book. I was not disappointed although it is a departure from the type of books I have read by this author before. I found the characters to be well developed and the story very engaging. Macy and Elliot meet when they are young teens and have an immediate connection. They become the best of friends sharing a love of literature. As they mature their friendship continues to grow, but distance between them begins to pull them apart. Events unfold that cause them to go their separate ways and more than a decade later they meet again. The question the reader must answer is if there is anything left of Macy and Elliot's love or if events of their past are too large to overcome. Lauren builds the story by alternating the present with what happened in the past, which makes the reader want the gaps to fill in as fast as possible. As I read this novel I kept asking myself what was so bad that caused two people who seem in love to not see each other for a decade. I would recommend this novel to anyone that loves chick-lit, contemporary romance, new adult or just a really good read.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my review. In full disclosure, I am a huge Christina Lauren, and her book, "Dating You/Hating You," is one of my favorite books ever! But "Love and Other Words" is coming in as a tie. I just loved this story. I actually had to force myself to put it down so I didn't just race through it! This is the story of Macy and Elliot. Macy and her father end up buying a summer home because it is something that Macy's mother wrote on a to-do list before she passed away from cancer. As the two of them try to cope with the loss of their wife/mother they find that their summer home is right next door to Elliot Petropoulos, who would become the most important person in Macy's life-until he wasn't. Flash forward to today and Macy is now a doctor, engaged and she hasn't spoken to Elliot in years, until she sees him in a coffee shop. All of her feelings come rushing back, but things are more complicated now than they were then. There are lots of secrets and misunderstandings about why they fell apart, and could they ever be Macy and Elliot again?

This story is just so sweet and so descriptive, that I could just feel my teenage years all over again (yeah-the good and that bad!) The plot develops slowly-just as their relationship did, until you are just hoping they can find a way back to each other. As a reader of tons of books, you recognize very quickly when you have a book that is just going to be a winner. This was a winner for me! Loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery books for an ARC.

This book was hard to put down. I was sucked into the worlds of Elliot and Macy quickly and didn't want the book to end. The story is told in alternating timelines of when Elliot and Macy were young to now when they're adults. The reader learns early on that they were super close as kids, but then something happens to make them not speak for eleven years. It takes the entire book to finally reveal what that event was and why it impacted them the way it did.

I loved the premise of the book. And as I said I had a hard time putting it down, but once I was out of their world and my logical thinking kicked in I had some issues with the actions of Elliot and Macy. I don't want to give away major plot points, but this book takes place in the time of smartphones and social media so the idea they avoided any knowledge of each other for eleven years just felt wrong. It's mentioned that Elliot wouldn't have social media, but he comes from a large family who would.

Elliot is also kind of a jerk to Macy. Macy has lost her mom at a young age and struggles with that grief. Elliot, is the same age, but portrayed as much more mature and in tune with his feelings. Yet at the same time he casually mentions making out with other girls while proclaiming he only loves Macy. I think this was meant to show he really is still a teenage boy, but it just made him seem like a jerk.

I really loved reading the book and if you can go in and take it at face value it's a fun read. Even with the flaws I was rooting for Macy and Elliot to be together. I look forward to more books by Christina Lauren and will check out their past works as well!

One of the best books I have read in 2018! I just had one issue with why Elliot and Macy stopped talking. It was more Elliot thank anything. I was hoping the reason was false, because I liked him so much up until that point!

I just spent the last four hours completely immersed in this book. From the first page I was invested in these characters and how they would tangle and untangle their lives together. I thoroughly enjoyed the love story of Macy and Elliot as they grew up and the complications family, time, and distance had on them as individuals and together. I couldn't wait to see home love and all the other words would sort out in this story.

Additionally having books as a starring character is a fun bonus for all readers! I would recommend this to anyone looking to spend an evening lost in the pages of a good book.

I loved this book! Macy and Elliot meet as young teens and develop a strong relationship over time. Things happen throughout the years that ultimately tear them apart but then they meet again years later. A must read romance.

This book was great! I really enjoyed it. The character development was solid, the dialogue was fun, and the pacing was really good. Totally recommend it!

Christina Lauren's "Love and Other Words" is their best work. I loved reading "Roomies" and "Dating You/Hating You", but this book is just beyond. I cried, laughed, and smiled. Macy and Elliot's story has all the feels. Oh and I couldn't put it down, so I finished reading this book in a day. I look forward to more titles from Christina Lauren!

5 “I’ve Loved You My Whole Life” Stars!
Macy Sorensen is a 28 yr. old woman living in San Francisco. She works in pediatrics in critical care, and is engaged to a great guy. She lives a life she’s content with, but doesn’t ever fully invest her heart. Then a chance encounter with the guy who used to be her entire world makes her feel completely unraveled. Her perfect little life she’s created is turned upside down. She hasn’t seen Elliot Petropoulos in 11 years since she abruptly pushed him out of her life. He was her first real friend, her first love, her first everything.

Macy met Elliot when she was 13, and he was 14. She grew up in Berkeley, & after the death of her mother, her dad bought them a cabin they could vacation at. Elliot lived next door and they became very close. From the start things were always easy and effortless between them. Macy could always talk to Elliot about anything, & he was her safe place. He was her person, the one who understood her best.

Elliot can’t believe he’s seeing Macy again. He’s never loved another woman, and hasn’t seen her since high school. After a decade apart he will do whatever it takes to reconnect with her.

Macy soon realizes she never got over Elliot. There was a hole in her heart that had never healed that only he could fill. Seeing him again, she has to face that she’s still in love with him, and probably always will be. She’s spent the last 11 years angry & hurt. It’s time to face the past, and move forward.

This was such a beautiful emotional story told between past & present about two soulmates that meet when they are both in 8th grade. They become each other’s home. I adored Elliot from the skinny nerd to the sexy man. His heart is absolutely breathtaking. This was the first women’s fiction novel from Christina Lauren, & it was fantastic. It had a completely different feel to it than the other books I’ve read by them. This is one of those books that touched my heart & I’ll think about for a while. Just loved it!

This is a second chance at love story. Macy and Elliot meet when they are in their early teens. He becomes a source of comfort to her after having lost her mom at ten years old. The story is told in then and now. It is great getting the backstory but at times wanting to get back to the now to see whats happening next. I love second chance love but after finding out the original reason they were torn apart its both sad and somewhat frustrating. But as with life simple misunderstanding happens all the time. I would have loved an epilogue after the last now just to see after all this time of yearning for each other what happened next. Review on goodreads and amazon.com